Red Cross Basic Sailing

Red Cross Basic Sailing - RCBS - is the entry level learn-to-sail course offered by the Mariner program. Once a girl has successfully completed RCBS, she is a Mariner for life, and may participate in all Mariner activities.

RCBS is mostly taught on the water, with limited class-room sessions. The RCBS course includes two weekend sessions, usually separated by several weeks in between. Girls must attend both sessions of their RCBS class in order to pass. Completing RCBS requires passing a multiple-choice written test, plus demonstrating beginner level sailing skills on the water.

Most the class is on the water and hands-on. Some parts of the class are conducted in a classroom.

During RCBS, girls learn:

How to rig or set up the boat for sailing.

Parts of the Sunfish

Sailing skills.

Boating safety.

Nautical terms.

Boating rules of the road.

Assuming that the weather cooperates, much of each weekend is spent on the water learning sailing skills, and most importantly practicing sailing.

Book

Girls attending RCBS must have a copy of the class book - "Start Sailing Right". This book is sometimes stocked locally by the Red Cross shop. Otherwise it may be ordered from Amazon.com. Please be careful when purchasing the book, you want Start Sailing Right - not the similar book by the same authors called Learn Sailing Right. The correct book has a Red Cross logo on the top right corner.

Girls attending RCBS must have their own copy of Start Sailing Right before attending the first weekend of RCBS. The books are not offered for sale at camp. Please purchase your book well in advance. While RCBS students are not expected to have read the whole book before the first class, they should browse or skim through the book.